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11 for.
ANG
14/2/69.
THE APPOINTMENT OF A PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSIONER
FOR ADMINISTRATION IN HONG KONG
The Hong Kong Government have for several
years been considering the possibility of appointing a Parliamentary Commissioner for
Administration. They have made a study of the
ombudsman systems in Scandinavia and in
New Zealand, as well as that of the Parliamentary
Commissioner for Administration in Great Britain.
However, they have not as yet reached any conclusion/ whether or not such an appointment should be made in the Colony.
Constitutional Difficulties
The institution of Parliamentary
Commissioner might provide a worthwhile independent check on executive actions under the system of Crown Colony Government as in force in Hong Kong; but the constitutional peculiarities might give rise to difficulties. One such difficulty is the
question of to whom the Parliamentary Commissioner would report. Sovereign power does not rest with
which the Colonial Legislature, but in Crown Colony Government is neither fully representative nor responsible. It rests in the Colony with the Governor and through him and the Secretary of State ultimately with the United Kingdom
Parliament. The non-representative nature of the local legislature raises another difficulty that of devising an adequate sifting procedure before complaints are referred to the Parliamentary Commissioner. These and other problems require very careful examination both here and in Hong
Kong.
/Establishment
..